Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life
by Donald S. Whitney (Summary by Jim Herzberg)
God intends us to grow toward Christ-likeness. We can’t wait for holiness, we
must pursue it. How? The answer is found in 1 Timothy 4:7: “Discipline yourself for the
purpose of godliness.” Whitney’s book examines the Spiritual Disciplines of Bible intake,
prayer, worship, evangelism, service, stewardship, fasting, silence and solitude,
journaling, and learning that must be practiced and developed for us to mature
spiritually.
God works through the Spiritual Disciplines to change us from the inside out, and
unlike the people and circumstances that God brings into our lives, He gives us the
ability to decide whether or not to practice them. Although we can choose, even the
most iron-willed self-discipline will not make us more holy. As Whitney says, God has
given us the Spiritual Disciplines as a means of receiving His grace and growing in
Godliness.
We must think of the Spiritual Disciplines as ways we can place ourselves in the path
of God’s grace and ways to seek Him and His will. We know that we will find him willing
to have mercy on us and willing to have communion with us. Over time and through
effort, we WILL be transformed by Him. That is why the Disciplines must become a top
priority for us if we will be Godly.
Because God commanded us to “discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness” and
because I don’t want my spirituality to be a mile wide and only an inch thick, I want to
commit myself to the discipline and perseverance it will take to be more like Christ. I’ve
already found out that Godliness doesn’t develop overnight or during a weekend Promise
Keeper’s seminar but that it will be a lifelong pursuit. The bible also tells us that all
believers have been given spiritual gifts and just like natural gifts, spiritual gifts must be
developed by discipline in order to bear spiritual fruit. The key to these pursuits is the
purpose--to become more godly. Here is a list of some of the spiritual disciplines.
Bible Intake
No Spiritual Disciple is more important or more transforming than the intake of God’s
Word. The reasons for this are clear. In the Bible, God tells us about Himself, about
Jesus, about His commandments, and about how we must repent and believe in Him to
have eternal life. In the Bible we also learn the ways and will of the Lord. To be more
Christlike, we must know about His life and how he modeled the Spiritual Disciplines for
us. There are several subdisciplines of Bible intake.
1. Hearing God’s Word. The easiest way to intake God’s Word is simply by hearing
it. We must discipline ourselves to regularly hear it and for most of us that means
steadfastly attending a church where the Word of God is faithfully preached. Radio and
tapes can be other ways of hearing the Word. The statement, “I don’t need to go to
church to worship,” is somewhat true that God may be worshipped in many places but
the ongoing worship of God cannot be separated from the Word of God. Mere passive
listening isn’t good enough. Preparing ourselves to hear, including reverence and a
spirit of seeking God is required.
2. Reading God’s Word. Because Jesus said, “Man does not live on bread alone,
but on EVERY word that comes from the mouth of God,”(Matthew 4:4), He intended us
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Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life
by Donald S. Whitney (Summary by Jim Herzberg)
to read every word. God promises that those who read and heed His Word will be
blessed, but only those who discipline themselves to do it will receive those blessings.
As one poll concluded, “no factor is more influential in shaping a person’s moral and
social behavior than regular Bible reading.” Should we choose the bible or TV to shape
us and our children? As we face problems, temptations, and pressures from this earthly
life everyday, we should read the bible EVERY day. A bible reading guide:
a. Find the time. Morning is best for me so that I can encounter Christ in
the Scriptures when it will have the greatest impact on my day. If I
don’t make time to get up early, it doesn’t happen.
b. Find a Bible-reading plan and keep a record of which books you have
read. Examples:
-Three chapters every day and five on Sundays = the Bible in one
year.
-Three chapters in Old Testament and three in New Testament every
day = Old Testament once and New Testament four times in one year.
-Read in five places each day. Genesis(the Law), Joshua(History),
Job(Poetry), Isaiah(the Prophets), and Matthew (the New Testament).
-Read in three places each day. Genesis, Job and Matthew.
c. Find at least one word, phrase or verse to
MEDITATE on
each time you read or you may close your bible and not remember a
single thing you have read. If that happens, your Bible reading is not
likely to change you.
3. Studying God’s Word. Reading God’s word gives us breadth, but studying it gives
us depth. Why do so many Christians neglect the study of God’s word? Our main
problem is that WE ARE LAZY. Other insecurities of how to study or even where to
begin can be overcome by starting with some paper and something to write with. Write
down the observations about the text as you read and record the questions that come to
mind. Look up cross references. Outline the chapter you are reading. Other ways to
consider are character studies, topical studies, and book studies. There are many books
on how to study the Bible, the key is to NOT SETTLE ONLY ON SPIRITUAL FOOD THAT
HAS BEEN “PREDIGESTED” BY OTHERS. As Whitney says, our growth in Godliness is
greatly affected by the quality, not just quantity of our Bible intake. Hearing, reading,
and studying with a focus on becoming Godlike will provide that quality.
4. Memorizing God’s Word. When Scripture is stored in the mind, it is available for
the Holy Spirit to take and bring to your attention when you need it most, providing
timely guidance for ourselves. There’s added power against temptation when a specific
verse can be brought to mind. The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, can
make the difference in the spiritual battles we fight every day. Whitney reinforces that
the Holy Spirit cannot give you this weapon to use against Satan until you have stored it
in the armory of your mind. Memorizing Scripture also strengthens your faith because it
repeatedly reinforces the truth, often just when you need to hear it again. Scripture
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Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life
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memory can also prepare us for unexpected witnessing or counseling opportunities that
come our way. Some ideas on memorizing Scripture:
A. Select verses on a particular topic where the Lord is working in your life
right now. If you’re struggling with a habit, find verses that would help
you experience victory over it.
B. Another option is to memorize a section of Scripture, such as a psalm,
rather than isolated verses.
C. Write out verses. Make a list of verses on a sheet of paper or write each
one on a separate index card.
D. Draw picture reminders to make the verse “visual.”
E. Memorize the verses perfectly-word for word and learn the reference too.
F. Find a method of accountability. Meet with someone regularly to review
your verses.
G. Review and meditate on your verses EVERY day.
Remember, the goal is not to see how many verses we can memorize, the goal is to
memorize the Word of God so that it can transform our minds and our lives.
5. Meditating on God’s Word. Meditation is both commanded by God and modeled
by the Godly in Scripture. Christian meditation involves filling your mind with God and
truth unlike some kinds of meditation where emptying your mind is the goal. Whitney’s
definition of meditation is deep thinking on the truths and spiritual realities revealed in
Scripture for the purposes of understanding, application, and prayer. He says it goes
beyond hearing, reading, studying, and even memorizing but that it is like a bag of tea
immersed completely and letting it steep until all of the flavor has been extracted. True
success is promised (Joshua 1:8) to those who meditate on God’s Word, not just at one
time each day, but at moments throughout the day and night. The fruit of their
meditation is action in their every lives. The results of such meditation is stability,
fruitfulness, perseverance, and prosperity. How do we meditate?
a. Select an appropriate passage. Verses that conspicuously relate to your
concerns and personal needs are clearly targets for mediation.
b. Repeat it in different ways.
c. Rewrite it in your own words.
d. Look for applications of the text. **The outcome of meditation
should be application.
e. Pray through the text. Pray for His illumination in your mediation.
f. Don’t Rush, take time! Read less in order to have some unhurried time
for meditation.
6. Applying God’s Word. The Bible promises (James 1:22-25, John 13:17) the
blessing of God on those who apply the Word of God to their lives. Whitney encourages
us, that because God wills for us to be a doer of His Word, to open the Book
expectantly, anticipating the discovery of a practical use the truth of God. Take every
word as spoken to you. Believe that what you are reading was meant for you as well as
the first recipients. To do this and understand how it applies now we must understand
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Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life
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how it was intended for those who heard it first. Not every promise is meant to be
applied today in exactly the same ways as it originally was. Yet many other promises
are general, universal, and perpetual in their application. Our problem continues to be
more of a lack of action than comprehension. How does the Word memorized become
the Word applied? Whitney answers that it happens through meditation. He also gives
examples of application-oriented questions that can help us become a doer of God’s
Word:
*Does this text reveal something I should believe about God?
*Does this text reveal something I should praise, thank or trust God for?
*Does this text reveal something I should pray about for myself or others?
*Does this text reveal something I should have a new attitude about?
*Does this text reveal something I should make a decision about?
*Does this text reveal something Is should do for the sake of Christ, others, or
myself?
Whitney says that an encounter with God through His Word should result in at least one
specific response. You should be able to name at least one definite response you have
made or will make to what you have read. Regardless of the nature of that response,
consciously commit yourself to at least one action to take following the intake of God’s
Word.
Prayer
God has a Very Large Ear that is continuously open to us. He will hear every prayer
of His children, even when our prayers are “weaker than a snowflake.”(Whitney) Of all
the Spiritual Disciplines, prayer is second only to the intake of God’s Word in
importance. Whitney says that one of the main reasons for a lack of Godliness is
prayerlessness. The fact is that to be like Jesus we must pray. God expects us to pray:
Colossians 4:2, “Devote yourselves to prayer.”
1 Thessalonians 5:17, “Pray continually.”
In His love, He desires to communicate with us and to bless us. Prayer is a
relationship, an expression of a Christian’s unbroken relationship with the Father. If
Jesus needed to pray, how much more do we need to pray? Why don’t we do it
then? A lack of discipline. Sometimes doubt about an answer causes us not to pray.
Many prayers are answered in ways that cannot be seen in the material realm. Whitney
says that prayer is learned:
*By praying. The Holy Spirit teaches praying people how to pray better.
*By meditating on scripture. Meditation is the missing link between Bible intake
and prayer. Whitney quotes Thomas Manton who says, “What we take in by the Word
we digest by meditation and let out by prayer.” William Bridge said that meditation “is
the sister of reading and the mother of prayer.”
*By praying with others. We pray with other believers to learn principles of
prayer, NOT phrases for prayer.
*By reading about prayer. “He who walks with the wise grows wise” is the
teaching of Proverbs 27:17 Reading the books of wise men and women of prayer gives
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Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life
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us the privilege of “walking” with them and learning the insights God gave them on how
to pray.
PRAYER IS ANSWERED!(Matthew 7:7-8) Where God leads you to pray, He means
you to receive.(C.H. Spurgeon) We often must pray persistently before the answers
come. Sometimes a failure to persist in prayer proves that we were not serious about
our request in the first place. At other times God wants us to persist in prayer in order
to strengthen our faith in Him.
Worship
Godliness without the worship of God is unthinkable but it is possible to worship God
in vain. “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are fare from me. They
worship me in vain.”(Matthew 15:8-9) To worship God is to ascribe the proper worth to
God, to magnify His worthiness of praise. He is worthy of all the worth and honor we
can give Him and then infinitely more.
Worship is focusing on and responding to God. We can focus on God because He is
revealed to us through creation, and through His Word, the Bible. That’s why both the
public and private worship of God should be based upon and include so much of the
Bible. This focus of the mind and heart means being preoccupied with God. We must be
sincere in our acts of worship. If it isn’t, hypocrisy is the result.
Believers are expected to participate regularly in corporate worship (Hebrews 10:25).
Christianity is not an isolationist religion. If you only express and experience
Christianity almost always on the individual level, you will needlessly and sinfully miss
much of the blessing and power of God. There is an element of worship and Christianity
that CANNOT be experienced in private worship or by watching worship on TV. There
are some graces and blessings that God gives only in the “meeting together” wit other
believers but public worship does not excuse us from secret worship. As Whitney says,
“can we expect the flames of our worship of God to burn brightly in public on the Lord’s
Day when they barely flicker for Him in secret on other days?” Thank the Lord that He
does not limit our access to Him and enjoyment of His presence to one day per week!!
The Lord Jesus Christ is willing to meet with you privately for as long as you want, and
He is willing-even eager-to meet with us every day. I don’t want to be characterized as
the average modern man who, “worships his work, works at his play, and plays at his
worship.” Regular corporate worship weekly AND private daily worship must be part of
my path to Godliness.
Evangelism
Godliness requires that we discipline ourselves in the practice of evangelism. All
Christians are not expected to use the same methods of evangelism, but all Christians
are expected to evangelize (Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:15, Luke 24:47, John 20:21,
Acts 1:8). Jesus said, “I am sending you.” That makes it crystal clear that he has
commanded us to witness.
What is evangelism? Evangelism is communicating the gospel. FEAR is the reason
why most don’t speak of Christ more often, but God not only calls us to witness but
provides us with both the power to witness AND a powerful message. Having Acts 1:8
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Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life
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power means that God will empower you life and words in the sharing of the gospel in
ways you will often not perceive. That’s why we can be confident that some will believe
if we will faithfully and tenaciously share the gospel. Don’t doubt the power of God to
add His blessing upon your words when you speak of Christ. It is the GOSPEL that is the
power of God for salvation and not our own powerful speech or persuasiveness. We
need to learn that sharing the gospel IS successful evangelism. Only God can convert
someone. We just need to share the good news. There is also a power for evangelism
in the one living a sincere Christian life. “The Lord empowers the life and the words of
the faithful believer with a power of spiritual attraction.
We must not just wait for witnessing opportunities to happen. Before we make any
excuses of “not enough time” for witnessing, Whitney says we need to ask ourselves:
Do we really want to say that we are too busy to fulfill the Great Commission of Jesus
Christ to make disciples of unbelievers(Matthew 28:19-20)? Do we expect that at the
Judgment Jesus will excuse us from the single most important responsibility He have to
us because we say, “I didn’t have time?”
The key is not to just rub shoulders with unbelievers every day but to speak and act
with them in such a way that their hearts and minds might be open to the gospel.
Whitney says the best way he has found is to ask a person how you can pray for him or
her. This means you have to discipline yourself to be with unbelievers. Whitney comes
right to the point when he says that, “many opportunities for evangelism will never take
place if you wait for them to occur spontaneously. The world, the flesh, and the Devil
will do their best to see to that.” Knowing how to respond to people as individuals
implies reflection and preparation.
Serving
Serving God is not a job for the casually interested. It’s costly service. He asks for
your life. He asks for service to Him to become a priority, not a pastime. He doesn’t
want servants who will give Him the leftovers of their life’s commitments. Serving God
isn’t a short-term responsibility either. Whitney reminds us that many times in service
we will be banished to the mundane, the ordinary, the trivial.
Two of the deadliest of our sins—-sloth and pride--put chains on our hands and feet
so that we don’t serve as we know we should or even as we want to. If we don’t
discipline ourselves to serve for the sake of Christ and His Kingdom (and for the purpose
of Godliness), we’ll serve only occasionally or when it’s convenient or self-serving.
There are six motives for serving:
1. Motivated by Obedience. God commands us to serve Him (Deuteronomy 13:4). We
should serve the Lord because we want to obey Him. We disobey God when we are
not serving Him. Not to serve God is sinful.
2. Motivated by Gratitude. It is no burden to serve God when we consider what great
things He has done for us (1 Samuel 12:24). If we cannot be grateful servants of
Him who is everything and who gave us everything, what will make us grateful?
3. Motivated by Gladness. We are not to serve God grudgingly or grimly, but gladly
(Psalm 100:2). For the believer, serving God is not a burden, it’s a privilege.
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Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life
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4. Motivated by Forgiveness, Not Guilt. Because God has taken our sins and guilt
away, we should be like Isaiah, straining to serve God in some way, any way. We
need to respond to the Lord like he did saying, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:68) “The child of God works not to be saved, but because he is saved.”(C.H.
Spurgeon)
5. Motivated by Humility. Jesus is the perfect example of how all His followers should
serve with humility (feet-washing, etc.). Because self-righteous service requires
external rewards, we must reject it as sinful motivation. Serve in humility,
considering others better than ourselves (Philippians 2:3).
6. Motivated by Love. “Serve one another in love.” (Galatians 5:13) The more we love
God the more we will live for Him and serve Him, and the more we love others the
more we will serve them.
Every Christian is gifted to serve (1 Peter 4:10) with one of the seven spiritual gifts
listed in Romans 12:4-8. You may still serve well without knowing the name of your
gift. The best way to discover and confirm which spiritual gift is yours is
through serving. If God didn’t intend for your gift to be used, there would be no longer
any purpose for your life. Why would God allow us to live beyond any usefulness to
Him?
Sometimes serving God and others is nothing less than hard work. God supplies us
with the power to serve Him. As Whitney reminds us, “service costing nothing
accomplishes nothing.” Even though serving God can be agonizing and exhausting
work, it is also the most fulfilling and rewarding kind of work. “…know that your labor in
the Lord is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58) God sees and knows of your service to
Him, and He will never forget it. He will reward you in Heaven.(Hebrews 6:10) “…but
for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”(Joshua 24:15)
Wanted: Gifted volunteers for difficult service in the local expression of the
Kingdom of God. Motivation to serve should be obedience to God, gratitude,
gladness, forgiveness, humility, and love. Service will rarely be glorious.
Temptation to quit place of service will sometimes be strong. Volunteers must be
faithful in spite of long hours, little or no visible results, and possibly no
recognition except from God in eternity.
Stewardship
Time and money are such substantial factors in our lives today that their stewardship
must be part of our Spiritual Disciplines.
A. Time. Whitney gives us 10 Biblical reasons why time is so important.
1. Use Time Wisely “Because the Days are Evil.” The great thieves of time in our
day are the flesh, and the Devil. The natural course of our minds, our bodies,
our world, and our days leads us toward evil, NOT toward Christlikeness. Our
thoughts must be disciplined.(Colossians 3:2) Our bodies are inclined to ease,
pleasure, gluttony, and sloth. Unless we practice self-control, our bodies will
tend to serve evil more than God.
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Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life
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2. Wise Use of Time Is the Preparation for Eternity. In this earthly life you must
prepare for eternity. There will be no second chance. Whitney comes right to
the point when he asks, “Do you realize that whether you experience unending
joy or eternal agony depends on what happens in moments of your life just like
this one?” What is more precious than time?
3. Time is Short. Time would not be so precious if we never died, but since we are
never more than a breath away from death, the way we use our time has
ETERNAL significance. Even the longest earthly life is brief in comparison to
eternity.
4. Time is Passing. “The world and its desires pass away.”(1 John 2:17) As we
grow older, time seems to pass even faster. What’s left of our time on earth is
passing quickly away.
5. The Remaining Time Is Uncertain. Not only is time short and passing, we don’t
even know how short it is or how quickly it will pass.(Proverbs 27:1) Whitney
gets my attention when he points out that there are thousands who entered
eternity (heaven or hell!) today, including thousands who were younger than
you, who yesterday had no idea that today would be their last day. “Our time is
in His hands.”(Psalm 31:15)
6. Time Lost Cannot Be Regained. Once time is gone, it is gone forever and can
NEVER be regained. Jesus said in John 9:4, “As long as it is day, we must do the
work of Him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.” If you
misuse the time God offers to you, He never offers that time again. Despite how
you may have wasted time in your past, you can improve the time that remains.
7. You are Accountable to God for Your Time. God will hold us accountable at the
Judgment for our use of time. We will have to give an account of every hour
spent carelessly. Jonathan Edwards suggested living each day as if at the end of
that day you had to give an account to God of how you used your time.
8. Time Is So Easily Lost. The modern day “sluggard” might say, “If I discipline my
time for the purpose of Godliness, I might miss interesting things on TV, or
become so busy I won’t get enough rest.” Proverbs 24:33-34 warns of time and
opportunities lost. If people threw away their money as thoughtlessly as they
throw away their time, we would think them insane. Yet time is infinitely more
precious than money because money can’t buy time.
9. We Value Time at Death. If you suddenly realized you had no more time, would
you regret how you have spent your time in the past and how you spend it now?
Won’t you be glad for those parts of your life that you spent in the Scriptures,
prayer, worship, evangelism, serving, fasting, etc., for the purpose of Godliness.
10. Time’s Value in Eternity. If there are any regrets in Heaven, they will only be
that we did not use our earthly time more for the glory of God and for growth in
His grace.
We all need to evaluate our use of time in the following areas to see if we are spending
them as God would have it: Bible intake, prayer, worship, the Lord’s Day, family, work,
work in and around your home, hobbies, TV, sports, exercise, recreation, sleep, and
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showering/dressing for the day. At the heart of the biblical Discipline of time is
doing the will of God when it ought to be done!
B. Money. The reasoned use of money and the things it buys is one of the best
indicators of spiritual maturity and Godliness is that we exchange such a great part
of our lives for it. Because we invest most of our days working in exchange for
money, there is a very real sense in which our money represents us. Therefore, how
we use it expresses who we are, what our priorities are, and what’s in our hearts.
Whitney gives us ten New Testament principles of giving.
1. God Owns Everything You Own. Because He created everything, “The earth is
the Lord’s, and everything in it.”(1 Corinthians 10:26, Psalm 24:1) That means
we are the managers or stewards of the things God has given us. God wants us
to use and enjoy the things He has allowed us to have, but as temporary
stewards we need to remember that they belong to Him and are primarily to be
used for His Kingdom. Whitney says the question is not, “How much of my
money should I give to God?” but rather, “How much of God’s money should I
keep for myself?”
2. Giving Is an Act of Worship. Giving should bring you joy like singing and giving
Him praises.
3. Giving Reflects Faith in God’s Provision. The proportion of your income that you
give back to God is one distinct indication of how much you trust Him to provide
for your needs. The more we believe God will provide for our needs, the more
we are willing to risk giving to Him. And the less we trust God, the less we will
give Him.
4. Giving Should Be Sacrificial and Generous. Giving isn’t sacrificial unless it’s a
sacrifice. Only a few professing Christians give sacrificially as shown in a Gallup
Poll in 1988 where the more money Americans make, the LESS sacrificially our
giving becomes.
5. Giving Reflects Spiritual Trustworthiness. You CANNOT serve both God and
Money. The use of your money and how you give it is one of the best ways of
evaluating your relationship with Christ and your spiritual trustworthiness. Your
checkbook tells more about you than almost anything else.
6. Giving—Love, Not Legalism. Giving should be a way of proving your love for
God. Instead of comparing what you give against someone else, “Each man
should give what he has decided in his heart to give.”(2 Corinthians 9:7)
7. Give Willingly, Thankfully, and Cheerfully. God loves a cheerful giver! There are
three kinds of giving: grudge giving, duty giving, and thanksgiving. Grudge
giving says, “I have to”; duty giving says, “I ought to”; thanksgiving says, “I
want to.”
8. Giving—An Appropriate Response to Real Needs. Christians give through the
church in response to specific needs: foreign and home missions, world hunger,
etc.
9. Giving Should Be Planned and Systematic. There is no excuse to appear emptyhanded before the Lord when we come to worship Him. Plan ahead and give
regularly. The more you prosper, the higher should be the proportion of your
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Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life
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giving. Giving ten percent of your gross income does not necessarily mean you
have fulfilled the will of God. That’s not a ceiling of giving to stop at, but a floor
to move from. Whenever you get a raise, unless there are unusual
circumstances, plan to give a greater percentage than you’re now giving.
10. Generous Giving Results in Bountiful Blessing. Jesus said in Luke 6:38, “Give
and it will be given to you…For with the measure you use, it will be measured to
you.” If you give to God, God will give to you. If you bountifully give to Him, He
will give bountifully to you. I agree with Whitney when he says that financial
gain may not be your reward but earthly blessings of an unspecified nature will
be given to those who are faithful stewards of God’s money.
No matter how much or little you have, as a believer you can discipline yourself to use
your money for the greatest purposes on earth: for the glory of God and “for the
purpose of godliness.”
Fasting
Fasting is the most feared and misunderstood of all the Spiritual Disciplines.
Christians in a gluttonous, denial-less, self-indulgent society may struggle to accept and
begin the practice of fasting. A biblical definition of fasting is a Christian’s voluntary
abstinence from food for spiritual purposes. There are several types of fasts:
*A normal fast involves abstaining from all food, but not from water or fruit juices.
*A partial fast is a limitation of the diet but not abstention from all food.
*An absolute fast is the avoidance of all food and liquid, even water.
*An example of a supernatural fast is where Moses fasted for 40 days with no
water or food on Mount Sinai.
*A private fast is one where we should fast in a way not to be noticed by others.
*Congregational fasts are where at least part of a congregation fasts together.
*A regular fast is one where fasting is done on specific days regularly.
*Occasional fasts occur on special occasions as the need arises.
Jesus expected that His followers would fast. “And when you fast…”(Matthew 6:1617). When you fast you aren’t to look like you’re fasting. The only Observer of your
fast should be the Secret One. No one else should know that you are fasting unless it is
absolutely unavoidable or necessary. God promises this about fasting, “And your
Father, who sees what is done in secret, WILL REWARD YOU.” How long should we fast?
See examples from the Bible listed on page 164 in Whitney’s book.
Fasting is to be done for a purpose. Without a purpose, fasting can be a miserable,
self-centered experience. Whitney has condensed the many purposes for fasting into
ten major categories (none of the purposes is to earn God’s favor).
1. To Strengthen Prayer. Fasting sharpens the edge of our intercessions and
gives passion to our supplications. Fasting is one of the best friends we can
introduce to our prayer life.
2. To Seek God’s Guidance. Fasting can be used to more clearly discern the will
of God. Fasting does not ensure the certainty of receiving clear guidance from
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God. Rightly practiced, however, it does make us more receptive to the One
who loves to guide us.
3. To Express Grief. Death, grief for sins, grief for the sins of others can all be
reasons for fasting.
4. To Seek Deliverance or Protection. One of the most common fasts in biblical
times was a fast to seek salvation from enemies or circumstances. Fasting,
rather than fleshly efforts, should be one of our first defenses against
“persecution” from family, schoolmates, neighbors, or coworkers because of
our faith.
5. To Express Repentance and the Return to God. Grief over sin that signals a
commitment to obedience and a new direction. It is a perversion of fasting to
try to use it to balance self-punishment for a sinful part of life we want to
continue feeding.
6. To Humble Oneself Before God. Fasting, when practiced with the right
motives, is a physical expression of humility before God, just as kneeling or
prostrating yourself in prayer can reflect humility before Him.
7. To Express Concern for the Work of God. Christians may fast and pray
because they feel a burden for the work of God in a broader scope. A Christian
might feel compelled to fast and pray for the work of God in a place that has
experienced tragedy, disappointment, or apparent defeat.
8. To Minister to the Needs of Others. The kind of fasting that pleases God is one
that results in concern for others and not just for ourselves. Fast for one meal
or one day and use that time for ministry. Besides time, some fast so that
they can give to the poor or to some ministry the money they would have
spent on food during that period.
9. To Overcome Temptation and Dedicate Yourself to God. There are times we
struggle with temptation, or we anticipate grappling with it, when we need
extra spiritual strength to overcome it. In times of exceptional temptation,
exceptional measures are required. Fasting for the purpose of overcoming the
temptation and of renewing our dedication to God is a Christlike response.
10. To Express Love and Worship to God. Disciplining yourself to fast means that
you love God more than you love food, seeking Him is more important to you
than eating. This means your stomach isn’t your God. Another way of fasting
to express love and worship to God is to spend your mealtime in praise and
adoration of God. Delay eating a particular meal until you have had your daily
time of Bible intake and prayer. Fasting must always have a spiritual
purpose—a God-centered purpose, not a self-centered one—for the Lord to
bless our fast. We cannot manipulate God to do our bidding by fasting any
more than we can by any other means. When our fast is rightly motivated, we
can be sure that God WILL bless us, but perhaps not in the way we wanted.
Fasting should always have a purpose, and we must learn to elevate His
purposes over ours. It is much more rewarding to feast on God than food
(Matthew 4:4). We should not fear the blessings of fasting.
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Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life
by Donald S. Whitney (Summary by Jim Herzberg)
Silence and Solitude
There is something both appealing and transforming about silence and solitude.
There are times when we must temporarily withdraw into the Disciplines of silence and
solitude. We must balance this with the fact that is neither right or desirable to be
cloistered from our God-given responsibilities involving other people. Biblical reality
calls us to family, fellowship, evangelism, and ministry for the sake of Christ and His
Kingdom.
The Discipline of silence is the voluntary and temporary abstention from speaking so
that certain spiritual goals might be sought. This can be called an “outward silence” but
silence can also be maintained inwardly so that God’s voice might be heard more clearly.
Solitude is the Spiritual Discipline of voluntarily and temporarily withdrawing to
privacy for spiritual purposes. The period of solitude may last only a few minutes or for
days. Both silence and solitude may be sought in order to participate without
interruption in other Spiritual Disciplines, or just to be alone with God.
There are many biblical reasons for making priorities of the Disciplines of silence and
solitude:
1. Follow Jesus’ Example. (Matthew 4:1, 14:23, Mark 1:35, Luke 4:42)
2. To Hear the Voice of God Better. There are times to eliminate the voices of the
world in order to hear undistracted the voice of God.
3. To Express Worship to God. The worship of God does not always require
words, sounds, or actions. Sometimes worship consists of a God-focused
stillness and hush. Worshipping God in silence may occur because your head
is so full that words cannot express your love for Him.
4. To Express Faith in God. The simple act of silence before the Lord, as opposed
to coming to Him in a wordy fret, can be a demonstration of faith in Him.
5. To Seek the Salvation of the Lord.
6. To Be Physically and Spiritually Restored.
7. To Regain a Spiritual Perspective. Closing our mouths can help us open our
minds.
8. To Seek the Will of God.
9. To Learn Control of the Tongue. The skills of observation and listening are also
sharpened in those who practice silence and solitude so that when they do
speak there’s more of a freshness and depth to their words. Control of the
tongue also promotes a Christ-like control of “the whole body.”
Suggestions for silence and solitude:
1. Minute Retreats
2. A Goal of Daily Silence and Solitude. Unless we plan for daily times of solitary
silence before God, the devil WILL fill them with noise, hurry, and crowds…
3. Getting Away for Solitude and Silence. This may mean nothing more than
finding an empty room in your church in which to spend an afternoon, an
evening, or a Saturday. Or it may involve spending a night or a weekend at a
retreat center, lodge, or cabin.
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Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life
by Donald S. Whitney (Summary by Jim Herzberg)
4. Special Places. These places can be found within the home, within walking
distance, within a few minutes’ drive, and for overnight or longer retreats.
5. Put these times of extended silence and solitude on the calendar.
As sleep and rest are needed each day for the body, so silence and solitude are needed
each day for the soul. If you don’t, the world, the flesh, and the Enemy of your soul will
take over.
Journaling
A journal for a Christian is a place to record the works and ways of God in your life.
Your journal also can include an account of daily events, a diary of personal
relationships, a notebook of insights into Scripture, and a list of prayer requests. The
value of journaling:
1. Help in Self-Understanding and Evaluation. Recording the events of the day
and noting your reactions to them causes us to examine ourselves much more
thoroughly that we would otherwise. A journal can be the means by which the
Holy Spirit shows us areas of sin or weakness. Journaling is a way to observe
patterns in your life you’ve not seen before. It also can be a means of
propelling us into action for others.
2. Help in Meditation. The discipline of writing down our mediations in a journal
helps us to concentrate.
3. Help in Expressing Thoughts and Feelings to the Lord. Journaling can be a
good way of expressing our thoughts when words won’t do.
4. Help in Remembering the Lord’s Works. We tend to forget just how many
times God has blessed us or answered specific prayers, made timely provision,
and done marvelous things in our lives. But having a place to collect all these
memories prevents their being forgotten. As Francis Bacon said, “If a man
writes little, he had need have a great memory.”
5. Help in Creating and Preserving a Spiritual Heritage. Journaling is an effective
way of teaching the things of God to our children and transmitting our faith
into the future.
6. Help in Clarifying and Articulating Insights and Impressions. Thoughts
disentangle themselves when passed through the lips and across the fingertips.
Writing down the meditations of my quiet time with the Lord, those
impressions stay with us much longer. Insights from our quiet time written
down in our journal can be ready for us later in conversation, counseling,
encouraging, and witnessing.
7. Help in Monitoring Goals and Priorities. A journal is a good way to keep before
us the things we want to do and to emphasize. Journaling can be a way of
maintaining self-accountability for spiritual goals and priorities.
8. Help in Maintaining the Other Spiritual Disciplines. Our journal can be a place
where we record our progress with all the Spiritual Disciplines.
Learning
13
Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life
by Donald S. Whitney (Summary by Jim Herzberg)
We should discipline ourselves to be intentional learners like Jesus. There is humility
with the truly wise because they know there is so much they have yet to learn. We’re
commanded in Proverbs 23:12, “Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words
of knowledge.” Learning is a lifelong Discipline. God is glorified when we use the mind
He made to learn of Him, His ways, His word, and His world. The more we know Him
the more we are able to love Him. The more we love Him the more we seek to know
Him. “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be TRANSFORMED by
the renewing of your mind.”(Romans 12:2) We will not become more like Christ if we
don’t know more of what Christ is like. NO ONE IS CHANGED BY AN UNREAD BIBLE.
Study is one of the central ways God changes us. We need to be intentional learners,
not accidental learners.
Conclusion
The Godly person is a busy person. The Godly person is devoted to God and to
people and that leads to a full life. The Spiritual Disciplines are God-given means by
which busy believers become like Christ. Slow, plodding perseverance in the Spiritual
Disciplines is better than a sometimes spectacular but generally inconsistent practice.
There are three things that will help us persevere in the practice of the Spiritual
Disciplines:
1. The Role of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit’s presence creates a hunger for
holiness. He gives the believer a desire to be like Christ. Self-control, is a
direct product or “fruit,” of the Spirit’s control in a believer’s life.
2. The Role of Fellowship. Spiritual maturity also includes growth in fellowship
with the children of God. Some Disciplines cannot be practiced without other
Christians—public worship, united prayer, serving other disciples, and so on.
The common Christian fails to distinguish between socializing and fellowship.
It is possible to socialize without having fellowship. Socializing involves the
sharing of human and earthly life. Christian fellowship involves the sharing of
spiritual life. Whatever the social setting in which fellowship happens, it should
involve sharing the life of Christ in both word and deed. As we live like Christ
when together, we encourage each other in Christian living. Hebrews 3:13
“But encourage one another daily, so that none of you my be hardened by sin’s
deceitfulness.
3. The Role of Struggle. Don’t be misled into thinking that if you drink of the
grace God offers through the Spiritual Disciplines then living the Christian life
will be easy. ALL Christians struggle. 1 Timothy 4:7-8 “And for this we labor
and strive.” The words labor and strive tell us that becoming like Christ
involves a lot more than to “let go and let God.” Labor means to work until
one is weary. Strive means to struggle. WE ARE IN A BATTLE, A CONFLICT, A
STRUGGLE. We have a personal Enemy committed to your failure in the
Disciplines—the Devil. Self-discipline is not self-punishment. It is instead an
attempt to do what, prompted by the Spirit, you actually want in your heart to
do!
14
Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life
by Donald S. Whitney (Summary by Jim Herzberg)
Whether you realize it or not, EVERYTHING you do is for eternity. NOTHING has an
impact only in this earthly life. We must finally give an account before God of how we
have spent our lives (Romans 14:12) and will suffer reward or loss based upon each of
our works in this life (1 Corinthians 3:10-15). There are no shortcuts to Godliness. The
flesh broods for an easier way than through the Spiritual Disciplines. The flesh, our
natural inclination toward sin, does not contribute to our spiritual growth. Unless we
labor to put to death the misdeeds of the body (Romans 8:13), our progress in
Godliness will be very slow. Unless we find practical ways to cooperate with the Holy
Spirit against our tendency toward spiritual sloth, we will not build ourselves up in the
faith (Jude 20): we will drift toward spiritual entropy instead. Life NEVER settles or
slows down. The key to being more Christ-like is repetition of the Spiritual Disciplines.
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